“Share everything.

Play fair.

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.”

These words of wisdom come from Robert Fulghum’s 1986 book: “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Not all booth staff at ISE in February played fair. Should I have been worried that they weren’t washing their hands?

I chronicled my woes at one particular booth on LinkedIn. I was doing research for a client and needed a deep dive on a new product. For the sake of anonymity, we’ll call this company Big Corp. I walked into Big Corp’s booth on Tuesday, and it was like I was invisible. Nobody would make eye contact with me. I gave up in frustration.

I went back the next day with a (male) friend, and within 10 seconds someone greeted him warmly (they didn’t know each other). We then proceeded to have an incredibly one-sided conversation. I would ask questions, and this guy would physically turn to face my friend and give him the answers.

My friend tried to direct things back to me, but this guy seemed bound and determined to cut me out of my own conversation. At that point, I was feeling less than invisible. I was so astounded I didn’t know what to say.

When I gave my client my report, I made sure to include my shoddy treatment.

And that’s the thing. Maybe your booth staff didn’t learn how to be kind in kindergarten, but it hurts your bottom line if you can’t get them to at least fake it. When I posted my story on LinkedIn, I got dozens of responses. Sadly, many people have had similar experiences. Women and people of color get ignored far more often than we’d like to think — and many take their business elsewhere when it happens.

I visited dozens of booths at ISE. At most of them, people were friendly and respectful. The rep I spoke with at the SDVoE booth played “stump the sales guy” with us. We asked increasingly technical questions, and he did his best to answer them (I gave him full marks). There were a lot of high-fives involved. The rep I spoke with at the Disguise booth geeked out with me so enthusiastically about their product features that I spent the rest of the show telling people to go check it out.

My poor treatment at Big Corp had two effects. On a personal level, it left me feeling like I didn’t belong. Some random dude decided I wasn’t even worth eye contact. I’m a tough person, but it stung. I’ve been in this industry long enough to brush it off, but how many people decide AV isn’t worth that kind of treatment?

A few years ago, one of my CTS prep students told me a rep in another manufacturer’s booth physically pushed her aside to talk to a man. I went to that booth to tell them what happened, and they gave me the big ol’ brush-off. I haven’t seen that student at an industry event since.

Maybe you don’t care about how people feel, but the second effect of poor treatment should give you pause — because this one hits your bottom line. People don’t want to buy from companies that treat them badly.

I understand that trade shows are exhausting. But if your booth staff think they can conserve energy by ignoring anyone they assume isn’t a buyer, they are committing sales malpractice. There are plenty of people spending serious money on AV gear who aren’t white guys in polo shirts.

So here’s a free curriculum for your next booth staff training. I’d charge big bucks for “booth consulting,” but this is kindergarten-level stuff. Consider it my gift to the industry.

1. Greet everyone who walks into your booth. (Be kind.)

This feels like it should be obvious, yet somehow it isn’t.

2. Level-set every conversation. (Play fair.)

Unless you already know them, ask everyone their job title and familiarity with your product. It’s a simple way to avoid insulting someone’s intelligence — or making their eyes glaze over by assuming they know more than they do.

3. Staff your booth with people who love your product. (Share everything.)

Some of the best conversations I had were with people who couldn’t wait to tell me about their cool new features. You can’t fake that kind of enthusiasm. Trade show staffing decisions are often political, but “ability to speak at length about our product” really should be part of the selection criteria.

If you aren’t sure who would do a good job explaining your product, consider holding a pitch fest and asking staff to audition. You might be surprised by the results. Selection bias doesn’t just affect visitors — it can also affect who gets chosen to staff the booth in the first place.

You could also send everyone back to kindergarten until they learn how to share. But that seems like a lot of extra work for all those poor kindergarten teachers.